Original subtitles

ANNOUNCER: WHEN YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL YOU KNOW

YOU'RE WATCHING TELEVISION THAT'S EDUCATIONAL AND

INFORMATIONAL.

THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: I'M DYLAN DREYER, JOIN ME ON AN ADVENTURE TO

THE GREATEST RIVER ON EARTH, THE MIGHTY AMAZON.

WE'LL TRAVEL ACROSS SOUTH AMERICA FOLLOWING TWO

MEDICINE MEN; BOTH ON A QUEST TO DISCOVER HEALING

PLANTS HIDDEN IN THE AMAZON JUNGLE.

WE'LL COME FACE-TO-FACE WITH AMAZING AMAZON

ANIMALS STRUGGLING TO SURVIVE.

AND MEET PEOPLE WHOSE ANCESTORS HAVE LIVED IN

THIS WILD PLACE SINCE THE DAWN OF HISTORY.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: SOUTH AMERICA IS HOME TO THE LARGEST

FOREST, THE LONGEST MOUNTAIN RANGE AND

THE BIGGEST RIVER OF ALL THE CONTINENTS ON EARTH.

OUR JOURNEY BEGINS IN BRAZIL, HOME TO A RUSHING

RIVER OF WATER TEN TIMES THE SIZE OF THE

MISSISSIPPI.

DYLAN: WELCOME TO THE AMAZON.

DYLAN: THIS COLOSSAL RIVER FLOWS TOWARD THE RISING SUN

AND WITH IT ONE-FIFTH OF THE CONTINENTAL

RUNOFF WATER OF THE PLANET.

DYLAN: RIVERS FROM FIVE NATIONS POUR INTO THE VAST

FLATLAND OF EQUATORIAL BRAZIL TO FORM THE

GREATEST MOVING MASS OF FRESHWATER IN THE WORLD.

DYLAN: THE MOST DISTANT SOURCE OF THE GREAT RIVER IS THE

TOWERING ANDES MOUNTAINS.

THESE PEAKS ARE WHERE THE FIRST DROPS AND TRICKLES

OF THE AMAZON RIVER ARE BORN.

DYLAN: THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE SHADOWS OF THE

ANDES ARE MEMBERS OF THE KALLAWAYA TRIBE.

THEY TRACE THEIR ANCESTRY BACK TO A TIME BEFORE THE

INCA EMPIRE, OVER 600 YEARS AGO.

DYLAN: MEN OF THE KALLAWAYA TRIBE ARE MEDICINE MEN AND

TRADITIONAL HEALERS.

THEIR LEGENDARY HEALING POWERS WERE KNOWN

THROUGHOUT THE INCA EMPIRE WHERE THEY WORKED WITH

ROYALTY AND NOBLE FAMILIES.

DYLAN: EVEN TODAY KALLAWAYA TRAVEL THROUGHOUT THE

ANDES MOUNTAINS AND BEYOND, HEALING PEOPLE

WITH MAGIC AND MEDICINAL PLANTS.

DYLAN: JULIO MAMANI FOLLOWS THE TRADITION OF HIS PEOPLE.

JULIO: IT SADDENS ME THERE WAS NO PLANT NOR MAGIC

THAT COULD SAVE MY MOTHER WHEN SHE GOT SICK.

JULIO: AKUMANI THE GOD MOUNTAIN OF OUR PEOPLE

WATCHES OVER THE KALLAWAYA AND HAS DONE SO SINCE OUR

EARLIEST BEGINNINGS.

JUILIO: I HAVE MADE A VOW TO GO TO THE GREAT

TROPICAL FOREST BELOW OUR MOUNTAIN HOME AND

RETURN WITH PLANTS THAT WILL INCREASE OUR POWER

TO CURE ILLNESS AND PROLONG LIFE.

JULIO: IT IS SAID THAT WATER TRICKLING FROM THE

GLACIERS OF AKUMANI WILL LEAD ONE TO THE GREAT

RIVER.

SIPPING THE MOUTH OF ANCIENT ICE BRINGS

REJUVENATION.

WHEN I REACH THE TROPICAL FOREST PERHAPS I CAN TRADE

THE GLACIAL WATER FOR AN UNKNOWN ELIXIR THAT WILL

PROLONG LIFE.

DYLAN: JULIO WANTS TO GROW THE KNOWLEDGE OF HIS

PEOPLE AND FIND NEW MEDICINAL REMEDIES HIDDEN

IN THE LANDS BEYOND HIS HOME.

DYLAN: THE INCAS ONCE RULED THESE HIGHLANDS

WHERE SOURCE RIVERS OF THE AMAZON GOUGED OUT SOME

OF THE DEEPEST CANYONS ON EARTH.

DYLAN: MACHU PICCHU, ANCIENT ESTATE TO THE INCA EMPIRE,

LIES ONLY 200 MILES FROM JULIO'S HOMELAND.

DYLAN: BUILT AT THE HEIGHT OF THE INCA EMPIRE AROUND THE

YEAR 1450, IT REMAINED LOST TO WESTERN HISTORY

UNTIL ITS RE-DISCOVERY HUNDREDS OF YEARS LATER.

DYLAN: BELOW THE MACHU PICCHU CITADEL THE URUBAMBA

RIVER CUTS ITS CANYON EVER DEEPER ON ITS RUSH TO JOIN

THE AMAZON.

DYLAN: IN THE MILES FROM THE MOUNTAIN PEAKS TO THE

FOREST BELOW JULIO WILL PASS THROUGH AS MANY

ECOLOGICAL ZONES AS IF HE WERE ON A JOURNEY FROM THE

NORTH POLE TO THE EQUATOR.

[TRAIN HORN]

♪ MUSIC ♪

♪ MUSIC ♪

JULIO: AT LA CUEVA DE LOS LECHUZAS, I HAVE

REACHED THE EDGE OF THE LEGENDARY FOREST.

IT SEEMS TO ME A MYSTICAL GATEWAY TO THE VAST FOREST

BEYOND.

THERE IS SO MUCH TO LEARN AND YET SO LITTLE TIME.

DYLAN: IT WILL TAKE WEEKS BUT JULIO WILL FINALLY

REACH THE FLATLANDS OF AMAZONIA, AN AREA ALMOST

LARGE ENOUGH TO COVER THE FACE OF THE MOON.

AND LIKE TINY DROPS OF WATER FROM THE GLACIERS OF

HIS HOMELAND HE WILL SOON MEET THE MIGHTY AMAZON.

DYLAN: COMING UP NEXT, WHILE JULIO COMPLETES HIS SACRED

QUEST TO THE GREAT RIVER, ANOTHER MEDICINE MAN HOPES

TO UNLOCK THE SCIENTIFIC SECRETS HIDDEN IN THE

AMAZON JUNGLE.

DYLAN: THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW

ON NBC.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU

KNOW ON NBC.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: JULIO MAMANI, OUR BRAVE MEDICINE

MAN FROM THE ANDES MOUNTAINS, HAS TRAVELED

THOUSANDS OF MILES TO REACH THE AMAZON RIVER.

MANY OTHER HEALERS FROM FAR DISTANT LANDS MAKE

THIS SAME JOURNEY EVERY YEAR INCLUDING ONE MAN

THAT STUDIED MEDICINE AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY.

NOW HE LOOKS FOR LIFE-SAVING REMEDIES ALONG

THE GREATEST RIVER IN THE WORLD.

DYLAN: DR. MARK PLOTKIN IS AN ETHNOBOTANIST.

DYLAN: ETHNOBOTANY IS AN ANCIENT FIELD OF STUDY THAT

SEEKS TO UNDERSTAND THE COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP

BETWEEN HUMANS AND THE COUNTLESS PLANT SPECIES

THAT GROW ALL AROUND US.

DYLAN: MARK BELIEVES THE AMAZON HOLDS SECRET CURES

TO MANY OF THE GREAT ILLNESSES THAT PLAGUE

HUMANITY.

DYLAN: HE ALSO BELIEVES THE BEST WAY TO UNCOVER THOSE

SECRETS ARE FOUND WITH THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE.

MARK: THERE'S A REMARKABLE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE

PLANTS AND PEOPLES OF THE FOREST.

MARK: DON ANTONIO IS THE SHAMAN OF THE COCAMA PEOPLE, HE'S

MY FRIEND AND MY TEACHER.

MARK: HIS KNOWLEDGE OF THE HEALING PROPERTIES OF THE

AMAZON FLORA IS EXTRAORDINARY.

MARK: VIRTUALLY EVERY USEFUL MEDICINAL OR AGRICULTURAL

PLANT THAT'S COME TO US FROM THE RAINFOREST WAS

FIRST LEARNED FROM INDIGENOUS PEOPLE.

IN OUR SEARCH FOR NEW TREATMENTS FOR THE DISEASE

THAT PLAGUE US, THE AMAZON RAINFOREST REPRESENTS ONE

OF THE MOST PROMISING PLACES TO LOOK.

DYLAN: BUT MARK WOULDN'T KNOW WHERE TO EVEN BEGIN

LOOKING IF NOT FOR THE FRIENDS HE HAS MADE AMONG

THE RIVER PEOPLE.

DYLAN: MEDICINE MEN WITH INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE OF

THE DENSE FOREST GUIDE MARK TO THE MOST

PROMISING HEALING PLANTS.

MARK: WE KNOW THAT FUNGI HAVE PROVIDED THE WORLD

WITH PENICILLIN AND OTHER ANTIBIOTICS, BUT THE

POTENTIAL OF TROPICAL FUNGI REMAINS LARGELY

UNKNOWN.

DYLAN: FOR YEARS MARK HAS BEEN LEARNING THE SECRETS

OF THE YAGUA INDIANS; A TRIBE OF AROUND SIX

THOUSAND PEOPLE LIVING IN THE JUNGLES OF NORTHERN

PERU.

THEY COAT THE ENDS OF THEIR DARTS WITH A POISON

CALLED CURARE, A SECRET MIXTURE OF BARK AND

LEAVES.

DYLAN: MARK HAS BEEN FASCINATED BY THE

MYSTERIES OF CURARE FOR MANY YEARS.

ALTHOUGH IT CAN BE LETHAL, IN SMALL DOSES CURARE IS A

POWERFUL MEDICINE.

MARK: IN THE HANDS OF WESTERN PHYSICIANS CURARE

HAS ALREADY BECOME A LIFE-GIVING MEDICATION.

EACH TRIBE HAS ITS OWN RECIPE FOR CURARE.

I BELIEVE THAT SOME OF THEM WILL LEAD US TO NEW

AND EFFECTIVE MEDICINES.

MARK: ONE TYPE IS USED AS A MUSCLE RELAXANT, ANOTHER

AS HEART MEDICINE.

DYLAN: PLOTKIN AND OTHER ETHNOBOTANISTS HOPE TO

PRESS AND DOCUMENT AS MANY AMAZON PLANTS AS POSSIBLE

BEFORE THE KNOWLEDGE OF THESE TRIBES IS LOST.

DYLAN: LEARNING THE JEALOUSLY-GUARDED SECRETS

OF THE YAGUA INDIANS REQUIRES GENUINE

FRIENDSHIP, MUTUAL TRUST AND AN INVITATION TO A

GOOD PARTY.

MARK: WHAT WESTERN SCIENTISTS ONCE DISMISSED

AS MAGIC, WE ARE NOW FINDING TO HAVE A VERY

REAL THERAPEUTIC EFFECT.

DYLAN: COMING UP NEXT, WE'LL CATCH UP WITH JULIO

MAMANI ON HIS QUEST TO DISCOVER NEW REMEDIES.

AND WE'LL MEET A FEW OF THE AMAZING ANIMALS OF THE

AMAZON.

DYLAN: THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW

ON NBC.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU

KNOW ON NBC.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: CONSIDER THIS, THE AMAZON RAINFOREST

IS SO BIG AND SUPPORTS SUCH A DIVERSE COLLECTION

OF ANIMALS NO ONE EVEN KNOWS HOW MANY

SPECIES LIVE THERE.

IN FACT, THE 50-FOOT TALL CANOPY OF TREES, LEAVES,

WATER AND AIR ABOVE THE FOREST FLOOR IS LARGELY

UNEXPLORED.

DYLAN: THE AMAZON HOUSES A GIGANTIC ECOLOGICAL

MACHINE OF GLOBAL IMPORTANCE; THE ONLY PLACE

OF ITS KIND IN THE WORLD.

DYLAN: THE AMAZON RIVER IS SO VAST IT HOLDS MORE THAN

FOUR TIMES AS MUCH WATER AS THE SECOND LARGEST

RIVER ON EARTH, THE AFRICAN CONGO.

DYLAN: AND MORE THAN 10 TIMES AS MUCH WATER AS THE

MISSISSIPPI.

DYLAN: IN THE LIGHT AND WARMTH AND WATER ARE MILLIONS OF

DIFFERENT SPECIES AND MANY MORE PERHAPS UNKNOWN.

♪ MUSIC ♪

[ANIMAL NOISES]

DYLAN: THE SLOTH, CALLED PEREZOSO, OR

LAZY ONE IN SPANISH, MOVES MUCH FASTER

IN THE WATER THAN ON LAND.

DYLAN: THE JAGUAR OFTEN JUMPS IN TO CROSS A WATERWAY.

AT 500 POUNDS, THE TAPIR IS THE LARGEST LAND ANIMAL

NATIVE TO SOUTH AMERICA.

DYLAN: IN MID-YEAR THE AMAZON RISES TO MAXIMUM FLOOD; AS

MUCH AS 45 FEET ABOVE ITS NOVEMBER MINIMUM.

DYLAN: WITH THE DELUGE, AQUATIC LIFE INVADES THE ONCE DRY

FOREST FLOOR.

DYLAN: THE PIRARUCU IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FISH

OF THE AMAZON.

IT CAN EXCEED SIX FEET IN LENGTH AND TWO HUNDRED

POUNDS IN WEIGHT.

DYLAN: THE PIPA TOAD IS ALMOST INVISIBLE UNTIL IT EATS.

DYLAN: ELECTRIC EELS DEAL DEATH WITH 500 VOLT SHOCKS.

DYLAN: THE PIRANHA HAS THE SHARPEST TEETH OF ALL

PREDATORY FISH.

DYLAN: OF ALL THE CREATURES OF THE AMAZON THE PINK

DOLPHIN IS THE MOST CELEBRATED.

DYLAN: JULIO MAMANI HAS FINALLY REACHED

THE GREAT RIVER AND HAS BEEN GIVEN A RIDE BY A

GROUP OF LOCAL VILLAGERS TO EXPLORE THE MANY

VILLAGES ALONG THE SHORE.

DYLAN: BOATS ARE NOT ONLY THE FASTEST WAY THROUGH THE

AMAZON, IN MANY CASES THEY'RE THE ONLY WAY.

JULIO: THE PEOPLE OF THE RIVER ARE KNOWN AS

CAPOLCOS, PART INDIAN, PART PORTUGUESE, SOMETIMES

THE BLOOD OF AFRICANS.

MANY ARE ALMOST AS SKILLFUL AS THE KALLAWAYAS

WITH HERBAL REMEDIES.

JULIO: WE HAVE MUCH TO LEARN FROM ONE ANOTHER.

DYLAN: THROUGH TRADE JULIO LEARNS OF SPECIAL JUNGLE

LEAVES THAT ARE USED TO HELP COAGULATE BLOOD AFTER

A CUT.

DYLAN: AND THROUGH A SIMPLE TUNE FROM HIS FLUTE HE LEARNS

ABOUT THE CURARE ANESTHETIC THAT DR. MARK

PLOTKIN HAS ALSO BEEN STUDYING.

DYLAN: BUT JULIO HAS ONE FINAL SPECIAL REMEDY TO TRADE;

THE SACRED WATER FROM HIS HOME ON THE ROOFTOP OF THE

WORLD.

DYLAN: HIS JOURNEY WILL CONTINUE RIGHT AFTER THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE

YOU KNOW ON NBC.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU

KNOW ON NBC.

♪ MUSIC ♪

JULIO: TRADING MY MEDICINE, MUSIC AND MAGIC

FOR THINGS I HAVE NEEDED HAS ALLOWED ME TO MOVE

FREELY ABOUT.

WITH DISTANCES SO GREAT, EXCHANGE OF A CURE FOR A

VERY FAST RIDE IS A VERY GOOD TRADE INDEED.

DYLAN: HERBAL MARKETS EXIST IN CITIES AND TOWNS

ALL ALONG THE AMAZON RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES.

PLANTS WITH TRUE CURATIVE POWER HANG SIDE-BY-SIDE

WITH UNTESTED ELIXIRS AND CURIOUS CONCOCTIONS.

DYLAN: JULIO MAMANI AND DR. PLOTKIN ARE MEDICINE MEN

FROM VASTLY DIFFERENT WORLDS BUT THEY SHARE A

COMMON QUEST...

...EACH HAS COME IN SEARCH OF THE

SECRETS OF THE AMAZON AND EACH SEEKS TO IMPROVE THE

HEALTH OF HUMANKIND.

LAN: AND FOR A FLEETING STANT TIME STANDS STILL, AND TWO

DISTANT WORLDS ARE ONE.

JULIO: IT IS TIME TO RETURN.

JULIO: I HAVE TRADED THE MELTED ICE OF THE GOD MOUNTAIN

FOR THE MEDICINE OF THE GREAT FOREST.

I HAVE TRADED MY FLUTE FOR THE LONG RIDE HOME.

I WILL MISS THE BEAUTY OF THE AMAZON AND ITS MANY

CREATURES.

WHAT WONDERFUL THINGS I HAVE SEEN TO TELL MY

PEOPLE.

JULIO: I SHALL RETURN ONE DAY AND IF NOT I, MAYBE

MY SON WILL COME.

JULIO: THERE IS SO MUCH TO LEARN AND YET SO LITTLE TIME.

DYLAN: WHETHER YOU'RE A SHAMAN OR

A SCIENTIST, WHETHER YOU LIVE IN A LARGE CITY OR A

SMALL TRIBE, THE AMAZON REMAINS ONE OF THE MOST

IMPORTANT ECOSYSTEMS IN THE WORLD.

THE WILDLIFE AND PEOPLE WHO CALL IT HOME DESERVE

OUR REVERENCE, RESPECT AND PROTECTION.

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED OUR ADVENTURE THROUGH THE

WILDEST JUNGLE ON EARTH.

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN, SAFE TRAVELS.